Laboratory Mistakes 5/10/22

this is a lesson the Kodak chemist never learned

Inclusion Compounds 5/5/22

Being that this is such a critical key to chemistry, it may surprise the reader to learn that there are “compounds” that do not follow this rule. They are called “non-stoichiometric compounds”, such as, for example, inclusion compounds.

Chemical Bonds 4/25/22

all chemical reactions come down to rearranging chemical bonds. It’s an interesting concept. At first, it sounds like an oversimplification, but in reality, it’s very true.

Candle 4/23/22

Science builds on itself, so if you don’t understand this chapter, you won’t understand the next, but this can also be crippling to a professor.

Earth Day 4/22/22

Over reliance on any one source of power, as we tend to enjoy doing as human beings, would have serious consequences over time. Indeed, we need a platform to pursue a diversity of power sources for the nation so the deleterious effects of any single source is minimized. But even that’s not enough.

Buttress 4/15/22

the church wanted ever higher main hall ceilings. This resulted in churches that were very tall, and very narrow, making them very unstable.

Questioning 4/14/22

We should always be willing to question our beliefs, and the “truths” that we are raised with. Some of the obvious truths are flawed.

Smoke Detectors 4/11/22

you must pay attention to the life span in the information sheet that comes with the detector. If your detectors are too old, or if you do not know how old they are (such as in a house you just purchased), go ahead and replace them.

Humble Beginnings 4/10/22

on analysis of the final product, he discovered that he had created an organic compound. And what was this breakthrough compound? What was it that shattered vitalism and turned chemistry on its ear? What was the compound that opened the door to uncountable new organic compounds?

Reaction Types 4/8/22

My dad used to explain things to me by breaking them down into humanistic terms to make them easy to understand, but, yes, I got into trouble for using “boy” and “girl”.